4 Jan 2021
Patterns of diffusion kurtosis changes in Parkinson's disease subtypes
Background: Diffusion kurtosis imaging has been applied to evaluate white matter and basal ganglia microstructure in mixed Parkinson's disease (PD) groups with inconclusive results.
Objectives: To evaluate specific patterns of kurtosis changes in PD and to assess the utility of diffusion imaging in differentiating between healthy subjects and cognitively normal PD, and between PD with and without mild cognitive impairment.
Methods: Diffusion scans were obtained in 92 participants using 3T MRI. Differences in white matter were tested by tract-based spatial statistics. Gray matter was evaluated in basal ganglia, thalamus, hippocampus, and motor and premotor cortices. Brain atrophy was also assessed. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify a combination of diffusion parameters with the highest discrimination power between groups.
Results: Diffusion kurtosis metrics showed a significant increase in substantia nigra (p = 0.037, Hedges' g = 0.89), premotor (p = 0.009, Hedges' g = 0.85) and motor (p = 0.033, Hedges' g = 0.87) cortices in PD with normal cognition compared to healthy participants.